Betsy DeVos called me. I sent her this letter - Lily's Blackboard : Betsy DeVos called me. I sent her this letter Education Secretary Betsy DeVos called me the other day saying we should talk. But this seems premature. I’m still struck by the lack of clear answers she gave the public at her Senate hearing. There is no doubt where we stand on issues critical to supporting students and public educa

Betsy DeVos is now being guarded by U.S. Marshals - The Washington Post : Betsy DeVos is now being guarded by U.S. Marshals By Danielle Douglas-Gabriel and Emma Brown February 17 at 5:07 PM The U.S. Marshals Service says they are now providing security for Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, after a handful of protesters blocked her from entering a D.C. middle school. [ Protesters briefly block Educ

CURMUDGUCATION: PA: How Much Does Your District Pay in Charter Costs : PA: How Much Does Your District Pay in Charter Costs An extremely handy spread sheet has been circulating lately, and if nothing else, I want to put a link here so that I can more easily find it. If you're in Pennsylvania, you'll want to look at this, too. Yes, 502 districts is a lot. The document covers every school year from

How to Protest Against Betsy DeVos : How to Protest Against Betsy DeVos Our schools are being starved into failure in order to justify mass privatization. —Timothy Meegan, Chicago Sun Times A while back, I attended a meeting at the University of Memphis where many of us were against the Relay Graduate School of Education —a reform group that recruits students out of their chosen careers and suppl

CURMUDGUCATION: DeVos: No Real Role for Feds : DeVos: No Real Role for Feds At Axios (the new "media company" from two former Politico honchos ), Johnathan Swan ( formerly of The Hill ) has a quick moment with Education Secretary Betsy DeVos . She uses the opportunity for a bit of a do-over on her confirmation hearing, but it's her thoughts on the federal role in education that are most striking.

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Gates' Annual Letter To Buffet Doesn't Mention Education Efforts : Gates' Annual Letter To Buffet Doesn't Mention Education Efforts For the second year in a row, Bill and Melinda Gates' letter to Warren Buffett on his donation to their foundation doesn't mention what any of their policy and advocacy work in public education. From fellow public education activist,

PTA asks 'Parent Teacher Alliance,' a charter school political group, to change its name | 89.3 KPCC : PTA asks 'Parent Teacher Alliance,' a charter school political group, to change its name In the midst of a contentious race for Los Angeles Unified School Board , some voters have gotten knocks at their door from pro-charter school canvassers introducing themselves as "volunteers with the Parent

Trump backs merit pay for teachers — but one Florida school system now says it doesn’t work - The Washington Post : Trump backs merit pay for teachers — but one Florida school system now says it doesn’t work During the campaign, President Trump said “it is time” for merit pay for teachers. In Florida, the Orange County Public School district thinks otherwise, declaring a years-long experiment wit

The Fight to Privatize LA Schools: Getting What You Pay For - LA Progressive : The Fight to Privatize LA Schools: Getting What You Pay For Is it true there are LAUSD board candidates “supported by” Betsy DeVos? Recently this very central, very arresting question was posted to a neighborhood social media website, highlighting the core themes of today’s political perplexity: culpability, associatio

Education in the Age of Globalization » Blog Archive » What Works Can Hurt: Side Effects in Education : What Works Can Hurt: Side Effects in Education This medicine can reduce fever, but it can cause a bleeding stomach. When you buy a medical product, you are given information about both its effects and side effects. But such practice does not exist in education. “This program helps improve your

Teaching in the Trump Years (Part 4) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice : Teaching in the Trump Years (Part 4) The following lesson was posted on a blog written by Ed Realist, “a teacher at a Title I high school who usually teaches math, but every so often jumps at the opportunity to teach US history. Ed has credentials in math, social science, and English.” I have kicked off m

Black History Month Series: #1 Alice Walker: Beauty in TruthSF Public School Mom : BHM Series #8: Alice Walker: Beauty in Truth In honor of Black History Month , I’m reposting this previous series. A few years ago, (2015 to be exact!) I challenged myself to write 28 posts highlighting African-American History . This year I finally reached my goal!!! Check out my original post below which appeared

And the GRAMMY goes to...our music teachers! - Lily's Blackboard : And the GRAMMY goes to…our music teachers! In my past life, before I became a teacher, I was actually a starving folk singer. Eventually, I did teach my fourth graders some of the classics (you will have to watch the video to know what I mean). However, I have never won a GRAMMY. Probably the closest I will ever get to the GRAMMY’

The Importance of Real Words -B.Keller | DCGEducator: Doing The Right Thing : The Importance of Real Words -B.Keller As someone who teaches the importance, values, power and etymology of words, as well as teaching people to think before they speak or write and to analyze the things others say and write, I am having a little difficulty with the recent increase of “engineering “ being done to the l

DeVos to tour schools with teachers union head | TheHill : DeVos to tour schools with teachers union head Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and the president of a teachers union that strongly resisted her confirmation have agreed to tour schools together. “I said I’d like to visit a public school with her, and then I’d like her to visit a choice school with me,” DeVos told Axios Thursday, recountin

Trump weighs mobilizing Nat Guard for immigration roundups : Trump weighs mobilizing Nat Guard for immigration roundups The Trump administration is considering a proposal to mobilize as many as 100,000 National Guard troops to round up unauthorized immigrants, including millions living nowhere near the Mexico border, according to a draft memo obtained by The Associated Press. The 11-page document

DeVos: Critics want to ‘make my life a living hell’ - The Washington Post : DeVos: Critics want to ‘make my life a living hell’ In her first full week as U.S. education secretary, Betsy DeVos wasted no time in getting to work to try to explain her vision for education and the U.S. Education Department — and to go after her critics, saying they want to make her life “a living hell.” She also said

The Government's "Energy Kids" Website Has Scrubbed Climate Warnings - The Atlantic : A Government Website for Kids Scrubbed Its Climate Warnings In recent weeks, “Energy Kids” has reworked and cut information about fossil fuels’ environmental impacts. Almost 20 years ago, the U.S. Energy Information Administration had an idea: Make an educational website for children about energy sources and the

House Education Committee Staffers Get New Power This Congress - Politics K-12 - Education Week : House Education Committee Staffers Get New Power This Congress The new session of Congress means new rules. Amid the turnover accompanying the 115th Congress, you might have missed changes to staff investigative authority that affects the Education and Workforce Committee in the House of Representati

Who Stays? Who Moves? Who Leaves? Teacher Preparation, Teacher Induction and Teacher Quality | Ed In The Apple : Who Stays? Who Moves? Who Leaves? Teacher Preparation, Teacher Induction and Teacher Quality Rick Hanuchek and Hank Levin, friends since the sixties, are education economists with hundreds of books and articles bearing their names, and, also, have starkly differing views on education a

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: TUNE IN THIS MORNING : TUNE IN THIS MORNING The Klonsky brothers are back on the air this morning at 11 (CST), live and streaming on Lumpen Radio , WLPN 105.5 FM from Bridgeport (the Daley's old hood) on the south side of Chicago. We’re trying to stay profanity-free, according to FCC regs this morning, so I’ll try and refrain from using the word “PUZDER” while we ta

Lacking Checks and Balances, Government Brings Us a Tragicomic Mess | janresseger : Lacking Checks and Balances, Government Brings Us a Tragicomic Mess Today’s post is a lesson in basic civics. When one party reigns supreme, as it does these days in the majority of states and the federal government—when one party dominates the executive branch and the legislative branch—government leaders do pret

CURMUDGUCATION: IOWA: Gutting Unions : IOWA: Gutting Unions The Iowa House and Senate have voted to gut the public service unions of their state . Under the new bill, Iowa's public service unions (that, of course, includes teachers) may not negotiate anything but wages. Health care, evaluation procedures, and other language items may not be part of contract negotiations. And should those wage neg

The Trump/DeVos Privatization Agenda Begins to Take Shape - Network For Public Education : The Trump/DeVos Privatization Agenda Begins to Take Shape The new administration’s attack on public education has begun, and we need you to take action today to stop it. In late January, HR 610 was introduced by Steve King of Iowa, with representatives from Maryland, Texas and Arizona signing on. You can re

Education Lessons From A Sparkly District: The End of Special Education Part VI: AZ Parents, Heads Up! : The End of Special Education Part VI: AZ Parents, Heads Up! There are generally too many stupid education and special education stories these days to comment on them all, but this one is worthy of everyone's attention. My "The End of Special Education" series has gained a lot of attention sinc

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America’s Founding Fathers Were Against School Choice | gadflyonthewallblog : America’s Founding Fathers Were Against School Choice One of the founding principles of the United States is public education. We fought a bloody revolution against England for many reasons, but chief among them was to create a society where all people could be educated. Certainly we had disagreements about who counted

Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 2/16/17 Featured Post Parents - Just say NO to the 2017 SBAC Testing Scheme - Wait What? Betsy DeVos, No ESSA Did Not End Common Core | Truth in American Education by mike simpson /